Jill Houser

Today we rode 110 miles through the blistering heat of the Nevada desert. There was nothing from start to finish. Not a gas station. Not a prairie dog to rip it's face off and eat sand and drop kick my bike into some shrubs like I planned... delirious maybe?

The cowboys? The views? The rock climbing? How about the small towns?

"Yeah. We rode our bikes here from Florida."

The most frustrating part about this trip is how many photographs I imagine taking but can?t. There are a number of reasons. 1.) My good camera?my Nikon, strains my back if I try to bring the 3 pound wonder up the monstrous hills. 2.) When you have 100 miles to go you can?t stop every 5 seconds to take a picture. 3.) My little point-and-shoot camera that I do bring with me doesn?t do the world justice and I lost it on the road today anyways?

No worries, someone found it. But still. There is a reason why they describe the west as having ?painted deserts?. Arizona is glorious to the eye balls. You fly down canyons and see layers and layers of red rock and hazy, blue mountains to match the big open sky. Plants are sparse but a vibrant green. And prairie dogs rustle by when we ride past. It looks like a painting. And no photograph that I could ever take can help you understand that.

I just talked to a woman at a church we were staying at who said when she drove through the east coast she was claustrophobic because trees were surrounding her. It blows my mind that the desolate, open landscape is a comfort to those that grow up here. I mean it?s beautiful, but by the afternoon, I?m sick of it.

The heat. I recently went to the emergency room to get medicine for what the doctor described as, ?WOW! Your nose looks angry! The whole inside is cracked.? Yes, the dry heat caused my nose to crack and bleed. Breathing in the over-100-degree heat is problematic. I often get goosebumbs in the boiling wheatear and I can?t imagine that?s good. And the other day I could have sworn I saw a giant snow globe in the middle of the desert. Yeah.

But, it doesn?t take much to please this group. We rode 76 miles today?the whole way anticipating paradise?or Sonic, that awaited us in Kayenta, Arizona. And it did not disappoint. I bought 2 large iced drinks. And there were donkeys at the drive-up stations. No joke. With a desert background. Maybe you can't see the beauty of the desert through my photographs but you can see the humor in it.

My chain fell off while I was flying down a canyon in New Mexico. I sat on a rock for a hour waiting for someone with a chain to come by and rescue me. Good thing I was stuck in the most beautiful spot ever!

I think New Mexico is the greatest kept secret of America. Why has no one told me about this land of enchantment before?

This is a new state for me. We're in Clayton, New Mexico at a Baptist church and I've been drinking green tea and Nyquil. My cold is getting worse and this morning I woke up with a swollen face. I hope NM gets warmer. But the stormy skys are beautiful.

The Polo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, Texas is the second largest canyon in the U.S. We decided on our day off to climb down it. Of course, I had to fall down the canyon, too, re-injuring the same wound I fell on last week. Or two weeks ago? I lost track of time.

My life dream has always been to jump a train. And especially in the desert. Well, I got my wish in Amarillo, TX. Sorry no pics of the actual jump. My camera was on my back.

We sleep. Wherever. Whenever. Whoever. We just sleep.

You can keep your lone star,

When I think of Louisiana I think of culture, colorful personalities and landscapes. I also think of bugs and bad roads, angry drivers and too many semi tractor-tailors.

Jeff was holding a 7 week old grey Pit Bull when we arrived at his house in east New Orleans with our mudding and sanding tools.

Jeff works at a Dollar General store, attends college to become a 5^th grade teacher and takes care of his 11-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, wife and grandmother.

?Where is the best food in New Orleans??

?My gramma?s house!? said Jeff.

After Hurricane Katrina, Jeff and his family moved to Texas. Soon they moved back because his grandmother was ill and wished to return to New Orleans.

?It?s only a shadow of what it was,? said Jeff. ?There are still empty houses, empty neighborhoods. It?s not the same.?

It?s also hasn?t been the same since their son got shot in the head eight years ago when they lived in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. (A poorer section of town that is also located next to where the levy broke after the hurricane.) That?s why they bought a new house in the (safer) east part of town.

They bought their new house two weeks before the storm hit.

?All I had were the clothes on my back. We?d just put all of our new things into the house,? he said.

As a result, Jeff and his family have been trying to fix up the house. He is thrilled and humbled that we are there. ?I don?t like to ask for help,? he said timidly.

That makes me want to help him more. Jeff and his family have been trying to fix up the house for years. ?I taught my 3-year-old how to use a drill,? he laughs. We are happy to step in and speed up the build process so that Jeff and his family can finally live stress free.

It's been chaos. In the best way. I'm physically and emotionally drained. I'm in a relationship with Bike & Build. So far New Orleans has treated me well. This city has something to photograph on every corner. Performers or just ordinary people kissing snakes--you name it. I can't wait to hear their stories.

I sat down on some napkins in a diner with deer heads all over the walls after getting soaked by a thunderstorm. I was delighted--not only to get my coffee fix for the first time since I started this journey, but that the people had accents! We've stayed in a gym, a church floor, mostly tents so far--no pics of that I just felt to filthy to think about taking pictures. The clouds have been awesome, especially before a storm and the national forests we ride through have kept our eyes busy. We've gotten free coffee and free meals--plenty of people are catching on to this great cause and we are becoming the talk of the town in cities like Perry, Sopchoppy and tomorrow--Apalachacola. Tan lines are becoming more visible, but pain is more bearable and friendships are really taking off and this group of 33 can't wait to wake up and do it again at 5 a.m.!

Never been so dirty at a build site. Mowing, laying sod, shelving...in my bike shoes because I'm an idiot...yep. But dinner was that much better.

When I dream something up I do it.

For all the animal lovers who ever wanted to check "pet a tiger"off thier to-do list, the St. Augustine Wild Reserve can help.